Minneapolis Mayor Takes First 'Bold North Zip Line' Ride
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Friday was the kickoff to a bold Super Bowl event: ziplining across the mighty Mississippi.
The Bold North Zip Line features four lines high above the river, alongside the Hennepin Avenue Bridge.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey took the inaugural ride, joined by former Minnesota Viking and Crew 52 Captain Chad Greenway, Viktor the Viking and Super Bowl Host Committee CEO Maureen Bausch.
"To blast off 750 feet across the Mississippi River on a zipline, and, you know, what could be more Minneapolis? What could highlight that which sets our city apart more than this great introduction to the Super Bowl?" Frey said
Greenway was also pumped to be one of the first to take flight.
"What a cool opportunity. You know, they sold so many tickets, it's limited, they sold out like almost immediately, and, I mean, we'll probably never get a chance to do anything like this again," Greenway said.
This is a first for a host city to have a zipline that goes across a river. The launch pad is 100 feet above the Mississippi.
"You think you're going to go straight down, you're not going straight down, the wind will take you, spin you around you a little bit," said host committee member Kevin Smith. "There's a patented breaking system on the end, so it will slow you right down and ease you right in to the landing zone."
The zipline goes 20 to 30 miles an hour, and takes about 30 seconds to get to the other side.
"I had an absolute ball," Frey said. "All I can say is I think we might need to make this a regular transportation device for people to get to work."
The 10,000 available tickets sold out almost immediately. People who will get the chance to go are mainly Minnesotans, but people from 26 states and four countries signed up. Click here for more information.
